Taxi Industry Opens Wallet For de Blasio, a Chief Ally

By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM

Published: July 18, 2012

Bill de Blasio, the New York public advocate and presumptive candidate for mayor, emerged earlier this year as an unlikely ally to the city's usually maligned yellow taxi industry.

Fund-raising records for Mr. de Blasio released this week show that the industry, known for its deep pockets, did not overlook that support.

Mr. de Blasio's campaign received about $85,000 in the last six months from executives, lobbyists and other affiliates of the yellow taxi industry, slightly more than 10 percent of his receipts for the fund-raising period, according to papers filed with the city's Campaign Finance Board.

The contributions coincided with an aggressive attempt by the industry to derail a Bloomberg administration plan that would have allowed hundreds of new metered livery cabs in northern Manhattan and in the other boroughs, parts of the city traditionally underserved by yellow taxis.

Mr. de Blasio loudly opposed the mayor's plan, saying the administration had not received the proper permission from the City Council to enact it, and in May, his office filed a brief in support of a lawsuit filed by the yellow taxi industry against the city. That suit prompted a judge to halt the plan, leaving it in limbo; the city, which is counting on $1 billion in revenue tied to the plan, has appealed.

The yellow taxi industry, which is dominated by several powerful fleet owners, often gives generously to influential lawmakers. Last year, for instance, when the mayor's livery plan was before the Council, the industry contributed about $40,000 to the campaign of Speaker Christine C. Quinn, another likely mayoral candidate.

This year, Mr. de Blasio received far more money from the taxi world than any other candidate. Since late last year, he has pulled in more than $100,000 in industry donations, according to city records.

In an interview on Tuesday, Mr. de Blasio said he felt that the Bloomberg administration had ignored the input of the city in enacting the livery plan, which was ultimately approved by the State Legislature after a series of complex political maneuvers.

''I thought this was a bad process with a bad result, and I spoke out on it, and that's the bottom line,'' Mr. de Blasio said.

Mr. de Blasio, who is a proponent of campaign-finance reform, said he followed the city's rules to the letter. ''I am obviously going to go out and raise money for a campaign from a wide variety of sources; other candidates are going to do the same,'' he said.

The bulk of the industry money given to Mr. de Blasio came from so-called bundlers, who coordinate contributions from many individuals. Jean Barrett, the executive director of the Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade, arranged $24,000 in contributions; the Board of Trade is considered the leading taxi industry group and is a plaintiff in the lawsuit against the city.

Evgeny Freidman, who owns dozens of taxi medallions, bundled $29,700 in contributions, all of which were arranged after Mr. de Blasio filed his supporting brief.

An unnamed official from Park Strategies, a lobbying firm, bundled $19,600 in donations for Mr. de Blasio in the latest filing period, records show; Park Strategies was hired by the taxi industry last year. A spokesman for Mr. de Blasio said neither he nor his office had been lobbied by the firm about the livery plan.